The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-07-21
COMMISSIONS ON TICKETS
THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION
GIVES ITS DECISION.

Commerce Commission to-day rendered
decision covering three cases of the Chicago
and Alton road against the Pennsylvania
Company and the Pennsylvania Railroad
Company two cases. and the Rock
Island road against the New York
Central growing out of the refusal of the
defendant companies to sell through tickets
md check through baggage over the COM
nlainants' lines because the complainant re-
fused to join in the agreement to abolish
ticket commissions. The complaint is dis
missed. Commissioner Morrison filed dis
senting opinion.
POINTS OF THE OPINION.
The following Synopsis contains the more
important points of the opinion, which is
very long: The complaints in these cases are
founded upon the third section of the act to
regulate commerce, and charge violations of
that section by the defendant companies in
refusing certain facilities for receiving, for
warding and delivering passengers to the
complainants' lines, consisting of through or
coupon tickets, which being afforded to
other and competing companies, gave, the
complainants allege, undue and unreasonable
preference to those companies The material
facts found by the commission recited at
length in the opinion show that for several
wears prior TO the time when the act to regu-
late commerce took effect, substantially all
the railroad companies of the country, in
GLIDING the complainantS and defendants
paid commissions varying in amount from
s. to s. a ticket to the ticket agents of other
companies by whom through tickets were
sold.
HEAVY TAX.
The defendant companies and some 9th
ers for about two years have made earnest
efforts TO abate the practice of paying COM
missions. The testimony shows that the
commissions paid on through tickets have
usually amounted to from 90 to p per cent
of the receipts from such sales, and that the
official reports of the companies have con-
cealed this expense and only showed the net
receipts from passenger tickets after de-
duCting commissions. About a month be-
fore the act to regulate commerce became
operative the defendant companies took
steps TO procure agreements with their con-
nectng companies to abolish the commits
sion business altogether.
THE NOTIFICATION.
With this end in view they sent printed
circulars ON or about March Is last
to their connecting companies ex-
pressing their willingness to act
as agents in the sale of through tickets,
and stating the nature of the agreement re
CURED The circular of the defendants
contained a condition prohibiting the pay
lHtllU Vi tOullllSSlOl4S OUlltl W
their agents. The complainant companies
received these circulars and refused to enter
into the agreement proposed, claiming the
right to continue to pay commissions to the
agents of the defendant companies upon
their sale of through tickets. A large pre-
ponderance of the companies to which these
circulars were addressed aSSented to the
propositions they contained and signed
agreements to make them effective On ac-
count of the refusal of the complainant
companies to discontinue the payment of
commissions to the agents of the defendant
companies, the defendants, after April 4
last, refused to sell through tickets over the
complainants' road from Chicago and st.
Louis to Kansas City, and still refuse solely
Tor those reasons.
THE COMPLAINT.
On these facts the complainants aver that
the defendants refuse to afford them rea-
Fonable, proper and equal facilities for re-
celying, forwarding and delivering passen-
gers, and give undue preference to COM
peting roads in contravention of the pro
visions of the act to regulate commerce.
IhedeiendantS deny that they have violated
the provisions of the act and claim that they
have exclusive right to control their agents,
70 fX the amount of their compensation and
to pay it themselves; that the payment of
commissions by other companies is demor-
alzlng TO their agents and often
~ 'aioNA lhAliiutlOHS W lDotN'cllS5Cios - loi
roads paying large commissions by division
OF the commission between the agent and
Ihe passenger: that commissions consume
considerable percentage of the revenue from
the sale of through tickets; that without
commissions all connecting roads stand on a
OASIS OF equality, and passengers select their
own routes uniniuenCed by agents having
an interest in the form of commissions in
pelsuadlng them to choose some particular
route.
THE OPINION
The opinion holds that the statute does
aut dlvcst railroad company of the exclu-
sve right to control its own internal affairs,
10 employ its own agents, to regulate their
uutes and to pay them such compensation
as II may deem proper. The right of owner
sup OF railroad property, with power OF
control over employees and management of
the property, is as absolute under the act as
before its passage The regulation of com
lherce between States, which is all that the
act contemplates, does not involve COM
uunlty OF property, or joint control of sub
VluhateS among several companies that
lonor through tickets. The corporate powers
oi every company for all administrative
una governing purposes within its prescribed
Spnere, remain UIimpaired. With the le-
6lmato exercise of these powers another
company hnS no concern and no right to in
tc.medde. For the proper government Of
thoT own subordinates tho defendant conf
panlcs have forbidden their agents To Ie-
celyc commissions from other companies
and directed them not 10 sell tickets over
roads OF companies that refuse 10 recognize
tllS corporate authority, but INSIST on sub5i-
'uAng agents
THEIR RIGHTS NOT VIOLATED.
In these directions defendants have not
uanSceaded their reasonable rights. One
P'fHon or corporation has no right TO inter-
iere With the employees Of another, and tine
satuteS do not disturb.tEiS OLD and sound
t".nc,pc
THE EFFECT OF COMMISSIONS.
Inc defendants might rest upon thcr
right to control the official conduct Of their
own agents. But they go further and show
Dy evidence the practical effects OF commits
Ions, and that thsjr natural aud usual ten
lehcies are to q variety OK abuses. 1t fol-
lows from these views that tho defendant
sompany in prohibiting their agents from
eoelving commissions and in refusing TO
sell through tickets over the roads of the
Sohlplainants while they insist on paying
commission 10 the Defendants agents, have
TT2lt contravened the provisions OF the act.
tue defendants reasonably and fairly Of
lered to afford all reasonable, proper and
glnal facilities for tho receiving and